Step by step, we’re getting there.

With Jeff and I not working on Friday because of the holiday, we hoped to cross a lot of items off of our list over the three-day weekend. A rainy Friday put a slight crimp on our plans, but overall it was still a fairly productive weekend.

We had actually already been down to Shenny on Wednesday to meet with John the diesel guy. Pegu Club is our first experience with a diesel engine and we know virtually nothing about them. Although we bought Nigel Calder’s book, we thought it would be beneficial to have a pro show us the basics, like how to bleed the engine. By the time John left we knew how to do that, plus we changed the impeller, secondary fuel filter, and belt, confirmed where the zinc was, and received many other tips plus an exploded parts manual. It was time and money very well spent. The diesel is finally starting to look less mysterious.

It rained most of the day on Friday but we had tickets to Shenny’s annual fish fry so we were planning to drive down anyway. Arriving a few hours early, we were able to spray down all of the surfaces with our bottle of Pure Ayre (which smelled like peppermint) and we closed up the boat with high hopes that the odorometer would read zero on Saturday. Continue reading “Step by step, we’re getting there.” →

A big project finally crossed off the list – and on to the next one.

The weekend of September 12th was fairly low-key. Jeff had pointed out that we needed to build in some occasional down time where we simply stayed home. It’s easy for me to get hyper-focused and go-go-go, so I knew that he was right. As a result, we decided that we would go to the boat on Saturday only.

Saturday the 12th found us at Shenny bright and early to help remove the sailing school boats for the season. Many hands made light work, so next it was off to Defender and Home Depot for our weekly visits. Once we were back, Jeff sanded the four fiberglass patches and filled and faired them. All that was left to do was to put a few layers of epoxy resin on each patch and this big project would be finished! We needed to wait for the filler to cure before adding the resin, so it wasn’t going to be officially finished until the following weekend, but it still felt good.

Continue reading “A big project finally crossed off the list – and on to the next one.” →

“Fun” with Fiberglass

Labor Day weekend gave us spectacular weather – 3 days of sunny skies and moderate temperatures – perfect for fiberglassing over the four unused thruhulls that we we were left with after removing the head.

The previous weekend had been semi-relaxed. Jeff had to work Saturday morning so we decided to stay home that day, wash the jib, and kick back for the rest of the afternoon. We were able to go over every inch of the jib as we washed it, and we noted a few areas of loose stitching that would need repairing before next season. This wasn’t an unexpected surprise given that sails get a fair amount of wear and tear. I’ve been lusting after a Sailrite sewing machine for awhile, but they aren’t cheap so I was planning on waiting until next year before pulling the trigger. After Jeff pointed out the money we would spend to send our sails to a loft for repair, he was finally able to convince me to get one this year. Yay! Once the first good sale comes along I’ll be ordering that bad baby up and repairing the jib will be project number one.

Continue reading ““Fun” with Fiberglass” →